When I first checked out BoJack Horseman, I thought it was going to be some so-so animated comedy series on Netflix. But like a gut-punch out of nowhere, it hit me between the rapid fire jokes and laughs with how it handled depression and how it can spiral out of control when let loose, making for one of the best shows I’ve seen in awhile. Now it’s back for another and quite possibly its most depressing season ever in BoJack Horseman: Season Three, which continues the laughs and deep moments that bring the feels for those who watch.
Netflix and creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg (who is now working on the upcoming Lego Movie sequel) serves up another great season with our favorite horseman BoJack hitting some highs and lows in his life like never before, while those around him contend with their own problems as well. This season picks up not long after the events in the previous one, where BoJack finally gets to accomplish his dream of starring in the Secretariat biopic film, and is dealing with the success it has brought him as he prepares for an Oscar nomination. To help keep him focused, a PR specialist named Ana (Angela Bassett) tries to stop him from being himself (a sarcastic, hard-drinking prick of sorts) and keep his status from sinking too much. But this turns out to be difficult thanks to BoJack having a knack for messing up things and pushing away those close to him, leading to a season that pushes hard with dark subjects such as abuse (sexual and drug related) and even suicide.
Even with all the gloom and doom, there’s still plenty of laughs to be had thanks to awesome characters such as Mr.Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) and BoJack’s best friend Todd (Aaron Paul) and the fun they bring to the show. There’s also some touching moments such as a look back on Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris) and the relationship she had with BoJack back in 2007. Fans of the show will be happy to know it makes fun of the era complete with Carolyn singing about it in her car (something to the effect of ‘It’s 2007 where pop music rules and auto-tune is on everything’). I also liked the one episode where BoJack is forced to visit the part of the world that’s under water on his Oscar campaign and can’t talk due to his breathing helmet, making for an interesting adventure dealing with him taking care of a baby seahorse among things, and an episode with little dialogue and plenty of fitting music.
There’s so much more I would like to say, but it would spoil the fun and dark twists of the season. I will say that I enjoyed every moment of it and that fans won’t be disappointed, thanks to the series playing on everything that makes it successful and ramping it up to new levels. Juggling the dark universe that is BoJack Horseman: Season Three isn’t easy, but the show manages to do it extremely well and I highly recommend it for fans, and for newcomers to watch it from the first season to enjoy one of the best shows out there now.
